A man behind them choked. The fear in the room was palpable. There was no logical reason for it, but the Starmen wouldn’t quibble with the crew members.
“I don’t want to go down there,” said another in a hushed tone.
Now that the great ship had attained orbit, the time had come for Zip to announce the name of the tenth planet. The name had been chosen months earlier by Dr. O who had discovered it, and therefore had the right to determine how it would be known throughout history.
Without any preamble, Zip retrieved the sealed envelope from the Starventure’s safe. As he did so, the men gathered around him. He turned and faced the crew. Glancing into their faces, he could almost feel their apprehension.
“It’s only a planet,” he said, trying to sound normal. “It’s just stone and ice such as we’ve seen in many other places of the Solar System.” He tore open the envelope, unfolded the paper that was inside it, and stared at what Dr. O had written.
“Well?” asked Joe.
“The planet’s name is Nyx. Dr. O named it after the Roman goddess of night.”
“And somewhere down there we expect to find Lurton Zimbardo,” declared Joe, more a statement than a question. He glanced almost casually out of the window again. Suddenly he stiffened.
“What’s that?” he exclaimed.
“What’s what?” cried out Mark. Everyone rushed to the windows once again.